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First Ave drops Ticketmaster

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February 28, 2011 // UPDATED 11:37 am - March 8, 2011

By: Gregory J. Scott

Gregory J. Scott

DOWNTOWN CORE — Starting on April 1, First Avenue will no longer use Ticketmaster for its phone and online ticket sales. Instead, the live music venue will offer tickets through Etix, an international, web-based ticketing service provider. Etix is one of several “alternative” sites that have popped up in recent years, as fans have grown increasingly critical of Ticketmaster’s steep fees.

General Manager Nick Kranz announced the news on March 7, saying that the club would take advantage of the March 31 expiration of its contract with Ticketmaster.

High service fees were the main factor for the switch.

“We’re confident people looking to buy First Avenue tickets will see a major change in both their wallets and ticket buying experience,” Kranz wrote in a prepared statement. He says that with new partner Etix customers can expect a 20 to 40 percent lower price per ticket. The partnership will also allow First Avenue to sell tickets directly from its Facebook page.

Tickets for First Avenue shows will still be available at the usual places: on the club’s website, over the phone, at certain local record shops, the First Avenue box office and at the venue’s next-door restaurant, the Depot Tavern.